Open Call: Education Initiatives for IDP and Refugee Children in Camps and Informal Settings (Iraq)
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The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund has announced a call for expressions of interest to provide inclusive education for out-of-school internally displaced and refugee children in camps and informal settlements across Erbil, Ninewa, and Sulaymaniyah.
Focus Areas: Learning outcomes, out-of-school education, skills development for adolescents.
The large-scale displacement crisis in Iraq, triggered by the 2014 ISIS conflict and compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, has left over 1.03 million people internally displaced, with many residing in the Kurdistan Region. This population includes significant numbers of refugees, predominantly Syrian nationals, living both in formal camps and informal urban settlements. Non-formal education (NFE) is a key strategy to reintegrate out-of-school children into formal education systems while easing the burden on overcrowded public schools facing shortages of teachers and facilities.
The initiative aims to address challenges such as missing documentation, long travel distances, engagement in child labor, and poor quality of instruction. Special attention will be given to adolescent girls at heightened risk of early marriage, gender-based violence, and other harmful coping mechanisms. Through remedial and catch-up classes, documentation support, and community-based education delivery, the program will foster safe and inclusive learning spaces that incorporate psychosocial support and gender-sensitive approaches.
The project targets 6,000 vulnerable children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years in camps and informal settlements, aiming to increase enrolment, improve learning outcomes, and strengthen foundational skills. It will also build the capacity of 300 teachers and facilitators in inclusive pedagogy, classroom management, and child-centred teaching methods. This approach supports the transition from humanitarian relief to sustainable, resilient education systems aligned with national priorities.
